Category Archives: Banking

US, UK and Canada impose sanctions on ex-governor of Lebanon’s central bank

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Riad Salameh accused of corrupt actions to enrich himself and associates ‘contributing to breakdown of the rule of law’

The US, Britain and Canada have announced sanctions against the former governor of Lebanon’s central bank, Riad Salameh, accusing him of corrupt actions to enrich himself and his associates.

Salameh, in messages to Reuters, denied the allegations made by the three sanctioning countries and said he would challenge them. Some of his assets had already been frozen in previous investigations, he said.

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Commonwealth Bank posts record $10bn profit amid rising stress for borrowers

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Annual results for CBA are 6% higher than previous year, buoyed by expanded profit margins during interest rate hikes

Australia’s biggest lender, Commonwealth Bank, has posted a record $10.16bn cash profit, even as more of its customers succumb to rising borrowing rates, prompting a sharp increase in bad debts.

The bank’s 2022-23 results were 6% higher than a year earlier, buoyed by expanding profit margins generated during a period of fast-rising interest rates.

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Italy approves 40% windfall tax on banks for 2023 as profits soar

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Proceeds from levy on interest rate income will be used to help mortgage holders and cut taxes

Italy has announced a one-off 40% windfall tax on local banks that have been accused of reaping billions in extra profit from rising interest rates.

The Italian government, which approved the surprise tax in a cabinet meeting on Monday night, said it planned to use the proceeds to support mortgage holders and cut taxes, at a time when rising rates have put extra pressure on households.

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Competition watchdog blocks ANZ $4.9bn takeover of Suncorp over ‘oligopoly’ fears

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ACCC says second-tier banks such as Suncorp are important competitors against major banks which dominate market

The competition regulator has declined to give ANZ permission to acquire Suncorp’s banking arm in a $4.9bn transaction that would have shaken up the banking industry.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said on Friday the proposed acquisition would “further entrench an oligopoly” in a sector already dominated by the four major banks.

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Jeremy Hunt requests inquiry into ‘debanking’ of politicians

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Chancellor wants Financial Conduct Authority to investigate whether practice is ‘widespread’

Jeremy Hunt has asked the financial regulator to urgently investigate whether banks are barring politicians from accounts on a “widespread” basis, after Nigel Farage had his account shut down by private bank Coutts.

The chancellor said everyone must be able to express their opinions and people must have access to banking.

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HSBC more than doubles profits as interest rates soar

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Bank says it earned £17bn in first half and will hand more money back to shareholders

HSBC more than doubled its profits in the first half of the year, as rising interest rates increased returns for the London-headquartered lender.

The bank reported pre-tax profits of $21.7bn (£17bn) in the first six months of 2023, up from $8.8bn during the same period last year, despiteputting aside more money to protect against potential defaults, as rising living costs put pressure on customers’ finances.

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Nigel Farage says new Coutts boss has offered to keep his accounts open

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Former Ukip leader is still taking legal action against bank demanding compensation and apology

Nigel Farage has said that the newly installed boss of Coutts has offered to keep his accounts there open, reversing a decision that triggered a scandal and the resignation of the private bank’s previous chief executive.

The former Ukip leader said he welcomed the offer but was still taking legal action against NatWest, which owns Coutts, demanding compensation, a full apology and a face-to-face meeting with the banking group’s bosses.

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UK banks are closing more than 1,000 accounts every day

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Nigel Farage calls for royal commission as data shows big jump in customers being ‘debanked’

Banks are closing more than 1,000 accounts every working day, according to new data that has fuelled the growing row over so-called “debanking” and prompted Nigel Farage to call for a royal commission to investigate what he said was a scandal.

Hours after the former Ukip leader revealed he was spearheading a website to campaign on behalf of people whose accounts had been shut, data revealed a big jump in the numbers of customers dumped by their bank.

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NatWest to pay UK government £190m as Farage crisis rocks bank

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Crisis-hit group plans to pay dividends worth £500m to investors after quarterly profits rise by 27%

NatWest will make a fresh £190m payout to its largest shareholder, the UK government, after Downing Street had an influence in the resignation of Alison Rose as the bank’s chief executive amid a row over Nigel Farage’s accounts.

The crisis-hit group said it was planning to pay dividends worth £500m to its investors after another strong quarter in which pre-tax profits rose by a higher than expected 27% to £1.8bn in the three months to June. That was compared with £1.4bn a year earlier, as the bank benefited from rising interest rates that allowed it to charge borrowers more for loans and mortgages.

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Why Nigel Farage’s bank account matters so much – podcast

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Since the politician’s account with Coutts was closed, the story has dominated the news agenda. Does it show that something has gone very wrong in our banking system?

On the surface it may not sound like a story that would generate national interest. A controversial politician finds his bank account with a bank catering to the ultra-wealthy has been closed. So why has it dominated news headlines?

Last month Nigel Farage posted a six-minute video on social media explaining that his bank account had been shut, that he was struggling to find another one and that the “establishment” was trying to force him out of the UK. He thought it was his political views that were behind the decision. But a later BBC story claimed it was a lack of funds, not his beliefs, behind the closure.

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Khan dismisses Sunak’s attack on his housebuilding record in London as ‘desperate nonsense’ – UK politics live

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Mayor of London hits back at prime minister over ‘pathetic gesture politics’

Rishi Sunak has failed to give his full backing to Sir Howard Davies, chairman of NatWest, in interviews this morning, PA Media reports.

PA says that Sunak did not back calls for the resignation of Davies in a pooled interview this morning – but also that Sunak would not say whether he had confidence in him.

What I said right at the start of this was that it wasn’t right for people to be deprived of basic services because of banking, because of their views.

This isn’t about any one individual, it’s about values – do you believe in free speech and not to be discriminated against because of your legally held views?

As a result of this policy, a dozen classrooms of children, including some of the most traumatised and vulnerable children in the world, have gone missing and, sickeningly for us, 50 children are still missing from the hotel used in Brighton and Hove.

Importantly the high court also makes clear that the home secretary already has the power to require local authorities across the country to take children into foster care via a statutory rota system called the national transfer scheme.

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Australians lodge almost 100,000 banking and finance complaints in year

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Record number of complaints caused by rising financial stress combined with relentless battle against scammers

Australians lodged a record 96,987 complaints against financial institutions over the past year, as rising financial stress combined with a relentless battle against scammers to trigger a steep rise.

The increase was partly fuelled by a 27% rise in banking and finance-related disputes in 2022-23, including a significant number of complaints from those experiencing financial difficulty.

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NatWest was caught out by Nigel Farage’s deft political game

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Tory anger over Coutts affair led to bank’s board feeling it had no choice but to sack CEO Alison Rose

Just after 5.40pm on Tuesday afternoon, the two people in charge of NatWest Group put out a joint statement. Dame Alison Rose, its chief executive, admitted she had been the source for an incendiary BBC story about Nigel Farage’s accounts at its exclusive private bank, while Sir Howard Davies, the bank’s chair, expressed his support for her remaining in charge of the lender.

Eight hours later, the bank had performed a dramatic reversal, having catastrophically misjudged the mood of its largest shareholder, the UK government. After last-minute interventions from both the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, and the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, board members convened for a late-night virtual call that was to spell the end of Rose’s 31-year career with the bank.

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Sunak and Hunt accused of ‘damaging UK plc’ over NatWest boss’s exit

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Concerns raised over anonymous briefings that triggered early-hours resignation of Dame Alison Rose

The prime minister and the chancellor have been accused of “damaging UK plc” and failing to follow due process amid concern over anonymous briefings that triggered the early-hours resignation of NatWest boss Dame Alison Rose.

“There is a real sense of disquiet that political pressure has led to a midnight exit for such an important banking CEO,” an official at the City regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, told the Guardian. “They should have allowed due process.”

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NatWest boss Alison Rose resigns over Nigel Farage Coutts account row

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Former Ukip leader obtained report suggesting media coverage of his political views was considered in Coutts closure decision

Dame Alison Rose, the chief executive of NatWest Group, has stood down after a row over the closure of Nigel Farage’s bank account with the private bank Coutts, which NatWest owns.

Rose has resigned from the banking group after the former UK Independence party leader complained to the BBC about a report that claimed his accounts with Coutts were closed for commercial reasons. The broadcaster has since apologised and amended its story.

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Nigel Farage calls for NatWest bosses to go after chief executive resigns over Coutts row – business live

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Live coverage of business, economics and financial markets as UK bank replaces leader following late night board meeting

The minister in charge of overseeing the UK’s financial services has said that “it is right” that Alison Rose has resigned from NatWest Group, calling the closure of Nigel Farage’s bank account “unacceptable”.

Andrew Griffith, the City minister, said the resignation “would never have happened” had NatWest Group’s subsidiary, Coutts, not withdrawn the account “due to someone’s lawful political views”.

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Nigel Farage praises ‘swift’ intervention by ministers over closed Coutts account

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Ex-Ukip leader welcomes prospect of law to stop bank account closures due to customers’ political views

Nigel Farage has praised a “swift” intervention by ministers after reports that new laws could be drawn up to stop banks closing customers’ accounts because they disagree with their political views.

The former Ukip leader said MPs were “beginning to realise that this system is coming for them as well” after his bank accounts were closed by Coutts, he says because his views “did not align with” its values.

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Sunak, Braverman and City regulator wade into Farage banking row

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FCA chief says banks cannot ‘discriminate’ against political views, but chair argues it’s up to Coutts ‘who they do business with’

The City regulator has said it has contacted the owner of Coutts bank amid a growing row over its decision to close Nigel Farage’s accounts, but told MPs that while lenders cannot discriminate against customers, it is ultimately up to firms to decide who to do business with.

It came as the prime minister, the home secretary and the City minister waded in to the growing debate over the rights of lenders to shut or refuse accounts based on concerns over customers’ political views.

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UK savings: more accounts now offering 6%-plus interest

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Government-backed NS&I increases its rates, as building societies and banks launch better deals

Amid the mortgage misery, there was more good news this week on savings rates, with a growing number of accounts now paying 6%-plus interest.

Meanwhile, the government-backed NS&I – a favourite of many in these uncertain times – has upped the rates on some of its popular fixed-rate accounts.

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Young renters reducing spending amid cost of living crisis more than any other group: CBA boss

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Commonwealth Bank head Matt Comyn said people who bought their first home during the pandemic had also reduced spending by around 30%

Renters are hitching their belts even tighter than mortgage holders as rising prices erode their savings capacity.

Commonwealth Bank data suggests those aged between 25 and 29, who are likely facing sharp rental increases, are pulling back on spending more than any other group.

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